


Father's Day

by TheOvertron



Category: Batman (Comics), DCU (Comics)
Genre: Batfamily (DCU), Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Father's Day, Gen, Siblings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-28
Updated: 2020-09-28
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:35:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26696836
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheOvertron/pseuds/TheOvertron
Summary: Duke Thomas and Cassandra Cain spend Father's Day together and decide they should thank Bruce for taking them in.
Relationships: Cassandra Cain & Bruce Wayne, Cassandra Cain & Duke Thomas, Duke Thomas & Bruce Wayne
Comments: 7
Kudos: 51





	1. Thomas

Duke outstretched his arms as he walked down the tall hallway. He let out a long sleepy yawn as he clicked his neck to the side. Due to his Photokinetic abilities, he usually operated during the day but last night he had decided to help Cass with her patrol and provide backup.

It was still early morning and he kind of figured Cass would still be asleep but decided to knock on her door anyway. He was hoping for company today and as Cass was the only person other than Bruce and Alfred living in the manor, she was his first choice.

"Hey Cassie, you awake?" Duke whispered through the door as he knocked three times. 

There was a slight pause and Duke wondered whether to knock again or move on. A loud thud then came from the other side, followed by scurrying sounds. Cass opened the door in a rather ineloquent way and Duke was left speechless from Cass' disheveled appearance. She was wearing white baggy shorts and a very loose fitting green vest, with one of the shoulder straps slipping down her arm. Her hair was very unkempt and Duke realised that despite living with Cass for some time now he had never seen her in such a state. He could feel his cheeks flush with embarrassment, as if he was witnessing something he wasn't meant to be.

Duke forced a cough to try and hide his embarrassment before turning his attention back to Cass, trying to ignore her unique appearance.

"So, urm, Cass! I was, err, wondering if you were free today? I was going to visit my parents and I was hoping for some company?" Inquired Duke as he glanced around, trying to avoid looking directly at Cass.

Cass looked up at him with a puzzled look on her face, she could tell that her appearance made Duke uncomfortable but couldn't understand why. She slowly nodded in response to his question and replied with a singular word.

"Sure."

\----------------------

It was about an hour or so later when they arrived at Leslie's clinic. Bruce had recently helped set up a home for Joker victims as part of Leslie's clinic where they could be looked after and cared for. 

Cass entered the clinic first, almost in a hurried sense and before Duke had made it through the main entrance he was greeted by the yelling of a name being called.

"CAAASSSSSS!!" came the excited yell. Duke witnessed a figure dive into Cass, who had been standing in front of him but was now sprawled in the corner of the room in a mess of arms and legs.

"Harper Row! I expect a more professional attitude whilst you are on the clock! This is hardly an appropriate workplace etiquette!" Leslie Thompkins reprimanded towards Harper before turning her attention towards Duke.

"Ahh, Mr Thomas, always a pleasure. Do pardon Miss Row's lack of dignity." She continued.

"I, urm yes, of course." Duke stuttered hesitantly whilst looking at Harper and Cass stumbling to their feet. He had met Harper a few times now but always struggled keeping up with her energetic attitude. He looked back at Leslie before continuing.

"How have they been doing recently? I know I've not been able to visit them for a while..." Duke mumbled despondently. He always made excuses to himself to avoid seeing his parents and always felt guilty afterwards.

"They've been relatively passive lately. Their episodes are becoming less common, which is as good as we can hope for. They've already been moved to the meeting room." Consoled Leslie in a calm, caring voice. Putting a hand on Duke's shoulder for comfort. "No matter what happens, I'm sure they will be pleased to see you."

From the corner of the room Cass had recovered from Harper's assault and was helping Harper to her feet when she noticed Duke moving towards the meeting room.

"See you" she waved towards Harper as she let go of the girl's hand and hurried after Duke, a light skip in her step. She had just about caught up to Duke when he turned towards her.

"Sorry Cassie but would you wait out here for me? I'd rather talk to my parents alone." Requested Duke as he went through the door, not waiting for a response from Cass.

Cass felt a pain in her stomach and a sense of sorrow. The tone of Duke's word's were quiet and calm but there was an underlying sternness to them that upset Cass. She couldn't tell though if she was upset that Duke was perhaps angry at her for messing around with Harper or if she was just empathising with his own sorrow. She never had loving parents whilst growing up though so there was no way she could truly understand what Duke was feeling.

"Told me to go with him? Why turn me away?" Cass questioned towards Leslie, not understanding Duke's change in mind.

"Don't worry," Leslie reassured, "I'm sure he's still going to need you here for him. Especially with it being Father's Day." Leslie spoke with confidence, as if she knew the true reason why Duke had invited Cass.

"Father's Day?" Cass repeated the last two words in an inquisitive manner. Not necessarily directed towards anyone, mainly to try out the new phrase to make sense of it. It was the first time she had heard that, what exactly did it mean?

\--------------------

Duke entered the hallway and closed the door behind him. He felt bad about shutting down Cass like that, he knew the only reason she came was on his request but it was always easier to deal with his parents when he was alone. 

He walked towards the meeting room and hesitated at the door. He could already hear the sounds from the hallway.

The Laughter.

They were muffled but still plenty audible. Duke was tempted to turn around and leave right then and there. He felt sick in his stomach and just couldn't bring himself to reach for the handle. He closed his eyes and counted down from 5.

"5...4...3...2...1…" Duke let out a long breath as he pushed open the door.

The room was quite empty. The walls were padded all over and there was a singular table in the center. His parents were sitting on a chair each and handcuffed to the table. Duke's eyes instantly rested on his parents faces, specifically their smiles. He would have loved it if they were genuine smiles from seeing their son after several months. But no, these smiles were haunting, cruel, twisted, painful. Duke could see the agony behind the smiles, their facial muscles stretched beyond their limits and their eyes streaming with tears as they laughed. His parents were in constant pain and he was helpless to stop it.

Upon sitting down their laughter resurfaced and Duke did his best to ignore it but every bit of the laughter reverberated through his mind.

_ "HAHAHAHA!" _

The Laughter!

"H...Hey, so urm, I know it's been a while but I've just been really busy with helping out Ba...er, Mr Wayne."

_ "HAHAHAHA!" _

The Laughter!

"Urm, Happy Father's Day dad, I would have bought you a gift but you're not allowed any possessions in this place"

_ "HAHAHAHA!" _

The Laughter!

"Bruce and Alfred, they've urm… they've been taking good care of me. Bruce can be a difficult person to deal with but he genuinely cares about me, about all of us, even if he doesn't always show it."

_ "HAHAHAHA!" _

The Laughter!

"Though Alfred is definitely the glue of this family, he's the only reason we can put up with Bruce's behaviour." Duke found himself repeating the same old conversation as he always did, it was always difficult to find new things to talk about when he was intentionally hiding what he really did day to day. He also found it difficult to focus with the constant echoes through the room.

_ "HAHAHAHA!" _

The Laughter!

"I've gotten pretty close to Cassie recently. She's another kid that Bruce has taken under his wing. She's cool and kind of like a little sister."

_ "HAHAHAHA!!" _

The Laughter!!

The laughing sounded as though it got louder after mentioning Cass. Duke cleared his throat, trying to distract himself from the taunting echoes.

"I.. I swear, it almost feels like a foster home at the manor sometimes. There's so many of us, we joke that Bruce has a compulsion to pick up lost strays. But it's nice, it feels like I have a bunch of siblings all looking out for me."

_ "HAHAHAHA!!" _

The Laughter!!

"Most… Most of them have their own lives so it's usually just me and Cassie at the manor." Duke found himself talking about Cass more than usual. She had definitely become an important part of his life and they worked well together in the field.

_ "HAHAHAHA!!!" _

But The Laughter!!!

He looked at both his parents. They stared back with their twisted distorted faces and haunting unblinking eyes. They were howling with stilted, agonising laughter.

_ "HAHAHAHA!!!" _

The Laughter!!!

"I…" Duke started, pausing as his voice cracked, "I will find a cure! I promise!" He blurted out, trying to give himself hope as well as his parents.

_ "HAHAHAHA!!!" _

The Laughter!!!

'One day! One day we will be a family again!" Duke cried out in a determined voice, squinting his eyes to hold back tears. He wasn't going to cry in front of his parents, not this time.

_ "HAHAHAHA!!!" _

The Laughter!!!

Duke lunged forward over the table and wrapped his arms around each parent, holding them tight. He could feel them struggling against him and the laughter getting louder.

_ "HAHAHAHA!" _

The Laughter!

_ "HAHAHAHA!! HAAATE YOUU!" _

The Laughter!!

_ "HAHAHAHA!!! KIIILL YOUU!" _

The Laughter!!!

"I'll… I'll visit again soon… I love you!" Duke reluctantly released his parents and quickly left the room, not looking back. He knew it was time to go, once they started replying it was only going to get worse and he didn't want to cause them to have another episode. He had gotten used to the awful twisted words that the Joker toxin caused them to say but he didn't want to put his parents through that, they were in enough pain already. He made his way back down the corridor with blurred vision, wiping his eyes every few steps to clear his view.

\--------------------

Cass sat alone in the waiting room. Leslie and Harper had gone off to check on other patients. Harper had asked her if she wanted to help out, see how normal people helped the city without dressing up and fighting crime. But Cass had declined. She was there for Duke so she would stay for Duke.

She heard the door opening and saw Duke re-emerge from the hallway. The moment she saw Duke everything clicked and she knew exactly what Leslie had meant when she said that Duke would still need her. Within a heartbeat, Cass had covered the span of the room and closed the distance between the two of them, before Duke had even registered Cass waiting for him, she had wrapped her arms around him in a warm, tight embrace.

"Cassie!?" Duke cried out in surprise, "I… I…"

"It's Okay" interrupted Cass. She could feel the emotional weight all throughout Duke's body.

"I'm here… to help. You can… let go." Cass continued. She suddenly felt Duke's rigid body relax as he collapsed into her embrace, gripping onto her shoulders. She held strong, supporting Duke as he released all the emotions he had been holding back, tears running down his face.


	2. Cain

"What is a Father's Day?" Cass inquired as she took sips from her coffee, testing the temperature.

Leslie had offered a drink to both Duke and Cass upon witnessing their emotional state which they had gladly accepted. Harper had also taken this opportunity to have her break so that she could join them.

"It's a day when people give gifts to their fathers as a way to say thanks." Duke explained, thinking about the encounter he just had with his own father. He was anything but thankful for the condition they were in! Harper responded with an audible scoff which attracted Duke's attention.

"Thank them for what?" Cass asked, still trying to understand the concept. At this question Harper let out a loud snort, trying to stifle laughter.

"My sentiments exactly!" Harper exclaimed, raising her mug up.

"What's up with you?" Duke scolded Harper, finding her attitude rather rude.

"Sorry." Harper jeered, still holding back laughter. "But I guess having an alcoholic, abusive father who's only redeeming quality is that he's in jail may have soured my opinion of Father's Day." Harper dryly explained.

"Damn!" Duke was stunned. "I'm really sorry!" Duke apologized, feeling shocked and guilty about having lashed out at her.

"No need to apologize dude, not your fault you didn't know." Harper brushed off Duke's apology. "He was always a lousy father but after we lost our mother, he got worse! Cullen and I moved out a few years back anyway, first opportunity we had." Harper ended by leaning back on her chair and reaching for her mug.

"Will you… see him?" Cass asked absentmindedly, thinking about the relationship she had had with her own father rather than listening to their conversation.

Duke glanced over at Cass with raised eyebrows, surprised at the question. Surely from listening to Harper's story it was safe to assume she had no interest in seeing her father.

"Yeah actually, Steph and I are off to Blackgate this afternoon." Replied Harper, completely seriously.

Duke was mid sip and had to quickly gulp down his drink in order to avoid spitting it out, burning his throat in the process.

"Sorry what! But I thought you disliked your dad and the concept of Father's Day?" Duke questioned puzzlingly. He was finding it difficult to understand Harper.

"Oh don't get me wrong, I hate the man! But Steph and I celebrate it for different reasons." Elaborated Harper. "We have a yearly tradition where we go taunt our fathers from the other side of the bars. Steph's able to get us right into the cellblocks without being noticed."

Duke stared gawking at Harper, stunned. Sure, being a crime fighter, Duke found himself in all manner of suspect locations. But here was a civilian talking about breaking into and out of one of most secure maximum security prisons in the country just to mess with her dad.

"That's what happens when you're kindred crime fighters with super villain parents, right Cass!" Harper spoke up after noticing Duke's shocked face. 

"Hmm?" Cass suddenly became alert at the sound of her name. She had been finding it hard to pay attention since she had asked her question. All this talk about parents had made her think of her own.

"I guess it must be a teenage rebellion thing. If our parents are criminals we rebel by becoming crime fighters." Harper continued, "I guess my dad isn't an actual super villain, just a jerk. But Steph's father is freaking Cluemaster and Cass here, well she has two of the most lethal assassins in the world as parents! I should know, her bastard of a father stabbed me!" Harper exclaimed, lifting her shirt up shamelessly to show off the scar.

\---------------------

Cass was deep in thought. She hadn't said much since leaving the clinic and was just blindly following Duke as they headed towards the station. They had left the clinic a short while ago once Harper's break had finished.

"...?"

Cass' ears pricked up.

"...Cassie!"

Cass found herself being pulled back just as a car whizzed past her, horn blaring. Shocked out of her daydream, her survival instincts kicked in and she reached back to grab her assailant's arm, kicking off the ground and going into a spin as she went. The next thing she realised she was on top of Duke pinning him to the ground whilst onlookers stared in shock.

"No!" Cass gasped as she relinquished her grip and backed away quickly, staring at her hands, horrified. She couldn't believe what she had just done! She had been so distracted thinking about her father that the second Duke had touched her, her first instinct was to fight back.

From down on the ground, Duke turned to look up at her, a matching shocked look across his face.

"... I'm... sorry!" Cass choked out as her eyes started to well up. Their scuffle had attracted a lot of attention and Cass could sense all the judging eyes gazing at her. Cass suddenly found it very hard to breathe or even think straight, it almost felt like she was trapped and the only thing she wanted was to get away. She took one last look at Duke and dashed away, heading down a nearby alleyway, her eyes stinging with tears.

\--------------------

Duke found her halfway down the alleyway, huddled in a ball with her head between her knees. He had noticed that she had been distracted since leaving the clinic but maybe he should have said something earlier? Whatever was on her mind had definitely contributed to her reaction.

"Cassie?" Duke spoke her name softly as he crouched down in front of her and put his hand on hers, hesitating briefly before touching her. 

Cass slowly lifted her head up, sniffing and revealing bloodshot eyes.

"S...sorry" sniffed Cass, "Didn't mean to."

Duke was surprised at how vulnerable Cass looked, she was always so confident and relaxed that he had never seen her with her guard down like this before.

"What happened Cass?" Duke asked in a concerned manner.

"Was thinking… about my… father." Cass stuttered through sniffs. "Taught me how… to fight… to survive… to kill… When you grabbed me… I almost..." she trailed off.

"Hey! It's okay, I'm okay. You were able to stop when you realised!" Reassured Duke, speaking quickly to get his point across, clasping both her hands within his grasp. 

"Come on, let's get out of this alley." Duke lifted himself up and extended his hand out towards Cass.

Cass sniffed one final time and reached out, accepting Duke's hand and was pulled up to her feet.

"Want ice cream?" Duke asked suddenly, eager to change their location and moods. "I want ice cream."

\---------------------

Cass brought the ice creams over to the bench where Duke was sitting. They had been near Robinson Park so decided to take a slight detour to get the ice creams. Cass had offered to buy them as a way to apologise for her assault. Duke thought to mention that both of their source of income was Bruce Wayne so it didn't matter who bought them but decided to let her have this as it might help to lift her spirits.

Cass handed Duke the vanilla ice cream and took a bite of her chocolate ice cream and shivered with delight. Savouring the strong chocolate aftertaste. 

"My father... was not a good father." Cass muttered quietly after a few bites. Duke had been so focused on his ice cream that he had almost missed what Cass had said and turned to face her.

"All my life, he treated me as weapon… not daughter." Cass continued, staring off into the trees.

Duke listened in silence, it seemed Cass had a lot on her mind that she wanted to unload so he would be here for her as she was for him.

"But I thought… it was normal. Never knew… that killing was bad! That he was bad!" Cass' voice began to crack.

"B-but after I ki…" Cass stammered, straining her eyes to fight off tears, "... Afterwards, I-I ran! Never kill! Never again!"

"And look what you've done since!" Consoled Duke, not wanting to see Cass cry again. "Not only have you fought against your parents, but you've taken their teachings and put them to good use helping people every night!" Duke grabbed ahold of Cass' hand and held it firmly. She returned the pressure.

"You're a hero Cassie! You're one of the most loyal, kindest, dedicated people I know and he never deserved you as a daughter. You said it yourself, he didn't treat you as a daughter so you shouldn't treat him as a father!" Duke continued, he couldn't bear to see Cass so conflicted.

"So… what about Father's Day?" Cass questioned with a serious expression. Duke hadn't been expecting a question like that, is that what Cass had truly been wondering about all day? How to spend a day dedicated to fathers when her own father had treated her so badly? 

"I don't know Cassie. Harper and Steph have their own version, you could too?" Duke suggested. "But remember, you've got a new family now, one that cares about you! There's Bruce, Alfred, all the guys… and me!" Duke felt a tiny bit embarrassed by what he was saying but didn't let that stop him. He wanted to let Cass know that she wasn't alone.

Cass appreciated Duke's word's and smiled warmly as she returned to her ice cream.

"I have… new family now!" Cass repeated Duke's words, smiling at Duke fondly. "If we thank fathers today… then we should thank Bruce!"


	3. Wayne

"You sure about this?" Duke asked Cass upon finishing his final check of the card that she had written for Bruce. He had been helping her with the words to make sure they were all spelt correctly. He was still surprised by the contents though and had kept asking Cass if she was happy with what she had written.

"Yes" Cass declared, "this is what I want!" Cass had done a lot of thinking about how she wanted to thank Bruce. Duke had helped contact the rest of the family to organise a small party for Bruce and this card was the final phase of her plan.

From the study that they were in they could hear the echoing chatter coming from the dining hall.

"Shall we join the others then?" Duke relented, handing Cass her card and gesturing towards the door. Cass took a deep breath and nodded as she took the card and placed it in her jacket pocket.

\--------------------

"A pen! I need a pen!" Jason yelled, barging past Duke and Cass as they entered the dining hall. They both turned in unison and watched as Jason disappeared around the corner, heading towards the study.

"Well it's about time you two turned up!" Damian scolded, suddenly appearing at their side. "What exactly took you so long? You are the ones that organised this after all."

"We were just getting ready." Duke replied, glancing towards Cass looking for backup.

"Yes" agreed Cass with a singular nod. She then glanced behind her to where Jason had run off.

"Jason… ok?" Cass asked, concerned. 

"-tt-" Damian tutted, "Drake mentioned the card we got Father and Jason had forgotten to get one so ran off to write in ours!" Damian explained disapprovingly, heading towards the table. 

Duke followed Damian to the table where Tim was already sitting. Alfred had already set up plates for them and he and Damian sat down opposite Tim. Cass dashed over to Tim's side of the table to sit on the recently vacant seat next to him, giving him a quick hug as she sat down.

Bruce, Alfred and Dick were still absent and no one else had been available for the party. Barbara was busy making a meal for her dad, Luke was spending time with his family and Steph and Harper were busy breaking into Blackgate Prison.

Jason came running back in, clearly out of breath, opened the card that was on the table and started scribbling down inside. He glanced up briefly to see the four of them staring at him in silence before continuing with his scrawling.

Footsteps could be heard approaching the door and Jason leapt over the table, quickly taking a seat besides Damian just as Alfred, Bruce and Dick entered the room. Dick had a silly grin across his face, pleased to have been able to drag Bruce out of the Batcave for at least a couple of hours.

\--------------------

"This is from me, Tim & Damian!" Dick chuckled as he handed a card to Bruce after Alfred had cleared away the plates. 

"AND ME!" Jason added from the other side of the table, a smug smile on his face.

"Thank you boys," Bruce replied, before looking at the card. It was a Batman themed Father's Day card and the front read 'Not all heroes wear capes'. 

Bruce's eyes narrowed into a frown, clearly not appreciating the joke. He then proceeded to read the context aloud:

_ "Dear Bruce, _

_ Happy Father's Day _

_ Thank you for taking us in and for being there when we needed you most (except that one time) _

_ Lots of love, _

_ Dick, Tim & Damian (& Jason)" _

It looked as though Jason had added some choice words of his own which gained disapproving looks from everyone and a scowl from Bruce.

"What?" Jason teased, "it was just a joke!"

"Only you would joke about your own death!" Rebuked Tim.

"Hey we're Robins! Dying is pretty much a right of passage." Jason argued back.

Duke rolled his eyes. Why was it that whenever they were all together like this it became a competition of comparing deaths. The fact that it could be a viable competition was messed up.

As the competition was kicking off, with Damian declaring his death and rebirth to be the superior, Duke and Cass were sitting at the end of the table, excluded from the action.

"Psst. Hey Cass, have you got the card ready?" Whispered Duke, leaning across the table. Though with the commotion, whispering was entirely unnecessary.

"Ah, y-yes" Cass stuttered in a quiet response, her cheeks flushing at the anticipation and realization that it was her turn to present a card. She withdrew the card from her jacket pocket and held it firmly under the table.

"Well go on then! No time like the present." Encouraged Duke, giving her a light tap on her leg with his foot.

Stumbling to her feet, Cass slid her chair back, causing a loud scraping sound that echoed through the room. Cass' face proceeded to get even redder as everyone looked up at her. She awkwardly smiled and made her way towards Bruce at the head of the table, feeling her legs shaking with each step.

"H-here!" Cass stammered, shoving her arms out and all but throwing the card at Bruce. She smiled at him nervously as he accepted the card with a surprised look.

Bruce looked at the cover of the card, it had stylised stick figures of what looked like a father and daughter holding hands and the front of the card read 'You're my favourite dad!' Duke had helped pick out the card for Cass. Usually the text would have been seen in a humorous sense but with Cass it was a perfect fit for what she wanted.

Cass hovered at Bruce's side, awaiting his reaction with nervous trepidation. She wasn't particularly good at writing and hoped that it was legible enough to understand. Bruce had let out a slight smile upon seeing the front of the card, appreciating the sentiment and began to read aloud upon opening the card.

_ "Bruce, _

_ Thank you for showing me a better life, _

_ You have been like a father to me, _

_ I would very…" _

Bruce stopped reading aloud as he scanned over the remainder of the card, his slight smile becoming wider before being replaced almost instantly by a frown to cover it up, trying to fight against revealing the smile to the others. Bruce coughed to clear his throat before continuing.

_ "I would very much like to become your daughter. _

_ Love Cass" _

Bruce finished reading the card and put it down to one side, looking up at Cass standing in front of him. His face returned to his usual stoic expression, not giving away any hint of emotion.

"Cassandra?" Bruce called her name softly but inquisitively.

"Y-yes!?" Cass blurted out. Standing up straight almost in a militarist manner in response to having her full name being called.

"This card… thank you. But these words… do you understand what you are asking?" Bruce spoke softly, his voice betraying his reserved appearance. He wanted to hear it directly from Cass so he didn't misinterpret her words.

"I'd like… a father… I can be thankful to!" Cass replied, choosing her words carefully. It had been easier just writing the words down. Saying it out loud made Cass slightly embarrassed and scared about messing it up. She took a few seconds to decide on the words she wished to say next. She formed each word carefully inside her mind, determined to speak it in a full sentence.

"I would like to be a Wayne!" Cass declared, in the most confident voice she could muster, looking at Bruce directly in the eyes. A grin forming across her mouth upon saying the words out loud.

Bruce stood up from his chair, Cass followed his eyes up until he was towering above her. His presence would have felt daunting in any other situation but he had relinquished his prior features and was displaying a wide warm smile matching that of Cass'. It was a rare sight that Batman only permitted few to see.

He lowered himself down to meet Cass' height and wrapped his arms around her in a surprisingly gentle, caring hug. She immediately returned the hug and drew herself close to him. She was feeling a happiness and warmth that she had never felt before, she held onto the embrace tightly with her arms, not wanting this moment to end.

"I would also like that very much." Bruce reassured, "I already see you as one of my children!"

Jeers from the boys at Bruce's rare display of affection cut the embrace shorter than Cass would have liked. They made up for it though by displaying their own affection and Cass took turns hugging each and every one of them; Alfred, Dick, Jason, Tim and even a reluctant Damian. It was a weird hug for Cass. She wasn't used to hugging someone smaller than her and he wasn't a very willing hugger, remaining rigid throughout the entire ordeal. 

She finally ended with Duke and embraced him tightly. She would be forever thankful for him being there for her and giving her the confidence she needed to confront Bruce with her feelings.

"Everyone! If you could all stand orderly and face me!" Alfred called out from the doorway. He had retrieved a camera and thought this was an opportune time to update the family photo.

Everyone got into position. Bruce and Cass stood in the center, Cass dragging Duke at her side. Dick stood by Bruce's side with Damian in front. Jason and Tim stood beside Duke.

"Hey Alfred, are you sure you don't want to be in the photo too?" Bruce asked.

"That's quite alright sir, besides, someone has to be the one to take the photo." Contested Alfred.

"I… I can take it?" Insisted Duke, "I'm not really a part of this family anyway!" Duke was feeling awkward being put front and center of the family photo.

"Nonsense!" Bruce muttered, swapping positions with Cass and putting a hand on both of their shoulders. "Like I said to Cassandra, I already see you all as part of the family."

"But…" Duke began. He was about to mention that he already had a family but decided that was in poor taste. After all, he genuinely appreciated Bruce taking him in after what had happened to his parents.

"One day, you'll be with your family again, I promise. But until then, you'll always have a place here with us!" Comforted Bruce, seemingly aware of what Duke had been thinking.

"You have… new family now." Echoed Cass, repeating Duke's words from earlier. She held out her hand and grabbed hold of Duke's.

"Yeah man! You're one of us" Dick added from next to Cass.

"I mean, you'll have to die first, but when you come back you can join the club." Jason joked, gaining a sharp elbow to the ribs from Tim and a tut from Damian.

"Th… thanks guys…" Duke muttered, looking down at the floor with a mix of embarrassment and shame. He already knew that he had been accepted within the family but he felt bad as he had only viewed it as a temporary measure. In truth, he'd see them as family for the rest of his life.

"I lost my family at a young age," Bruce began, looking towards the camera, "I think that is why I've tried so hard to create a new family since then. To fill the whole in my heart left by my parents and to do the same for all of you." Bruce looked around at each of them. He may not be the best when it came to displaying his affection but he cherished each and every one of them.

"Everyone say 'Batman!'" Alfred joked, getting everyone's attention back to the photo. Duke and Cass ended up being right in the center of the photo, with Bruce behind them as if showing off his newest additions. The boys retreated back to the table and resumed their prior topic, Jason asking Duke what his preferred way to go would be. Bruce and Cass remained standing together.

"We can start looking into the adoption process tomorrow if you would like?" Bruce stated, his arm still around Cass. Cass leaned into Bruce's side and nodded silently, a huge smile across her face.

"Welcome to the family, Cassandra Wayne."


End file.
